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| McIntosh Machine & Manufacturing in the News |
A Good Idea from Mac-Attach
by J. Reed Anderson, Editor
"I was talking to a guy I know with Soil and Water," said Scott Gustafson, "and he
said, 'You know, it would be nice to have something to run along shelterbelts,' and
that got me to thinking. And this is what I came up with."
What was wanted was a means of applying herbicides on the edges of windrows and
shelterbelts to keep them from encroaching into fields. Standard applicators aren't
de-signed for use on the side. Mr. Gustafson's approach was simple: just a single arm
with a sponge attached. "I didn't want the broad application that spraying would
make," he said. "I wanted a direct application. Not only will a sponge application be
specific, but it will decrease waste. But, there are people who will want the option of
spraying an application, so the Mac-Attach will do both."
Mr. Gustafson is the owner of McIntosh Machine and Manufacturing, and now of
Mac-Attach, the company that will manufacture the Mac-Attach Articulator. He is also
one of the winners of this year's IDEA Competition. The Mac-Attach (as he calls it)
will come in two sizes, one for a three-point hitch, and the other for pulling behind an
ATV.
"The IDEA Competition is really competitive," he said. "But, it pays off in the long run.
All of us had to make presentations to a group, and some of them in the group are, or
have been, investors--venture capital and angel. So we really have to make certain we
know everything about the business. They put me through classes with MBA's and
accountants. I even wore a new suit to the presentation. There's a lot more about bringing an idea into reality than most people think.
That's where winning really helps. Now I can move into the next phase of getting the Mac-Attach to market."
Mr. Gustafson said it was apparent early in the development stage of his larger proto-type that a smaller version would be needed. This
smaller version, designed for ATV's, may be even more promising. It can be used in smaller, tighter areas, such as vi-neyards and
Christmas tree farms. "We went to a trade show with it to get an idea of its market," said Mr. Gustafson. "We already had a great
reaction from vineyards, but the Christmas tree growers loved this. What they do is very labor-intensive, and the smaller Mac-Attach,
with the sponge applicator, is just the thing for their plots."
Now that the engineering and competing are done, Mr. Gustafson is getting ready for the tinkering. There remains finding the efficiencies
in the design itself; getting the two pieces of equipment to the point where design and manufacturing are at a high level of quality, but at a
price that the specialty equipment market will bear.
"We've done some revising to the design and the equipment already," he said. "Where we had several parts doing several things, now
we've got one or two doing those sever-al things. It shouldn't be long before we're up and running and putting them out the door. Which
is what I really want. Because the more we do here, the more people we can employ, and the better it is for the entire area."
by J. Reed Anderson, Editor
"I was talking to a guy I know with Soil and Water," said Scott Gustafson, "and he
said, 'You know, it would be nice to have something to run along shelterbelts,' and
that got me to thinking. And this is what I came up with."
What was wanted was a means of applying herbicides on the edges of windrows and
shelterbelts to keep them from encroaching into fields. Standard applicators aren't
de-signed for use on the side. Mr. Gustafson's approach was simple: just a single arm
with a sponge attached. "I didn't want the broad application that spraying would
make," he said. "I wanted a direct application. Not only will a sponge application be
specific, but it will decrease waste. But, there are people who will want the option of
spraying an application, so the Mac-Attach will do both."
Mr. Gustafson is the owner of McIntosh Machine and Manufacturing, and now of
Mac-Attach, the company that will manufacture the Mac-Attach Articulator. He is also
one of the winners of this year's IDEA Competition. The Mac-Attach (as he calls it)
will come in two sizes, one for a three-point hitch, and the other for pulling behind an
ATV.
"The IDEA Competition is really competitive," he said. "But, it pays off in the long run.
All of us had to make presentations to a group, and some of them in the group are, or
have been, investors--venture capital and angel. So we really have to make certain we
know everything about the business. They put me through classes with MBA's and
accountants. I even wore a new suit to the presentation. There's a lot more about bringing an idea into reality than most people think.
That's where winning really helps. Now I can move into the next phase of getting the Mac-Attach to market."
Mr. Gustafson said it was apparent early in the development stage of his larger proto-type that a smaller version would be needed. This
smaller version, designed for ATV's, may be even more promising. It can be used in smaller, tighter areas, such as vi-neyards and
Christmas tree farms. "We went to a trade show with it to get an idea of its market," said Mr. Gustafson. "We already had a great
reaction from vineyards, but the Christmas tree growers loved this. What they do is very labor-intensive, and the smaller Mac-Attach,
with the sponge applicator, is just the thing for their plots."
Now that the engineering and competing are done, Mr. Gustafson is getting ready for the tinkering. There remains finding the efficiencies
in the design itself; getting the two pieces of equipment to the point where design and manufacturing are at a high level of quality, but at a
price that the specialty equipment market will bear.
"We've done some revising to the design and the equipment already," he said. "Where we had several parts doing several things, now
we've got one or two doing those sever-al things. It shouldn't be long before we're up and running and putting them out the door. Which
is what I really want. Because the more we do here, the more people we can employ, and the better it is for the entire area."